The present invention relates generally to gaming machines, and particularly to a system for monitoring the operation of gaming machines via a power line.
Gambling casinos and entertainment centers often have large numbers of individual gaming machines, such as slot machines and video gaming machines. The condition and status of these machines must be carefully monitored. Usage, pay-in/pay-out and malfunctions are some conditions that are typically monitored. Conventional gaming machines in large casino-type installations are typically monitored by a remote computer. For example, a conventional slot machine has a serial port on its game board which outputs coin, security and tracking data. The serial port of each slot machine is hardwired to a data line that runs from each slot machine to the remote computer. Some examples of gaming machine monitoring systems are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,072,930 (Lucero et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,249,800 (Hilgendorf et al.); and U.S. Pat. No. 5,429,361 (Raven et al.).
Conventional gaming machine monitoring systems require dedicated data lines for communicating condition and status information. These dedicated data lines increase the expense and complexity of gaming machine installations.
Gaming machines may include controller boards for collecting and transmitting slot machine information to a remote computer. Controller boards are typically designed for a hardwire application so that gaming machine data can be communicated to a remote computer via the dedicated data line discussed above. These controller boards usually cannot be easily reconfigured to handle a different type of remote communication medium, such as wireless communications.
Conventional controller boards also do not have the ability to pass on a true image of the machine""s hard meters to the remote computer because they typically do not obtain the count data directly from the pay-in devices. Conventional controller boards are also typically not flexible in their ability to filter out status data which is not of interest to the gaming facility. The controller boards therefore transmit large amounts of unnecessary status information to the remote computer.
Accordingly, there is a need for a gaming machine monitoring system which does not require a dedicated data line between the slot machines and the remote computer, which has a controller board that can flexibly interface with a plurality of different communication media, which can obtain reliable currency count data and which can selectively collect and transmit status data. The present invention fulfills such needs.
An apparatus for use in a gaming machine comprises a controller and an AC power line modem. The controller includes a memory for storing data generated by the gaming machine. The AC power line modem is connected to the controller and is adapted to be connected to an AC power line for allowing data from the memory to be communicated to the AC power line. A plurality of such gaming machines may be connected to a remote host polling computer via a single AC power line.
The AC power line modem includes a drive circuit and a power line carrier transceiver. The drive circuit is connected to the AC power line for transmitting data to, and receiving data from, the AC power line. The power line carrier transceiver is connected to the drive circuit and to the controller. The transmitted data includes the data stored in the controller memory. The received data includes a polling signal requesting that the controller transmit the data stored in its memory.
Another embodiment of the invention provides a gaming machine controller adapted for communication with a remote host computer via a plurality of different communication media. The controller comprises a first connector for attachment to a gaming machine to allow the controller to receive data generated by the gaming machine, a memory for storing the gaming data, and a data router connected to the memory for communicating the gaming data to the remote host computer. The data router includes a programmable device for setting a communication mode therein to allow the controller to communicate via one communication medium selected from the plurality of different communication media.
Another embodiment of the invention provides a gaming machine controller adapted to collect data from a gaming machine and connected to at least one pay-in device of the gaming machine. Each pay-in device includes a hard meter which generates hard counts representative of currency entered therein. The controller comprises an input port directly connected to each pay-in device for receiving the hard counts, a memory for storing the hard counts, and an output port connected to the memory for allowing the hard count data stored therein to be output from the controller and transmitted to a remote computer. The remote computer thereby receives pay-in data obtained directly from the hard meter of each pay-in device.
Another embodiment of the invention provides a gaming machine controller adapted for communication with a remote host computer. The controller comprises an input port for receiving status codes from the gaming machine, a mask for storing a list of status codes which are desired to be transmitted to the remote host computer, a memory for storing status codes, and a processor. The processor is connected to the input port, the mask and the memory for causing the memory to store the status codes received from the gaming machine which are on the mask list, and for causing the controller to transmit to the remote host computer only the status codes which are on the mask list.